Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-30

then be removed by evaporation. An ex-
animation of the soil, and conversation
with those who have examined the sub
strata, by means of digging wells, solves
the problem. The soil is SO porous and
open that after a rain of As hours duration
in half an hour
THE SURFACE Is PERFECTLY DRAINED
And ploughing can be Immediately COM
| meneed. No water remains in the soil to
keep it chilled by slow evaporation, or
| passing along its surface bake the land
when dry. The water sinks gradually in
the soil to the depth of twelve or fourteen
| feet, where it encounters bed of quick
sand, and through which constant stream
! is passing, and thence carried either sub
TREMENDOUSLY to Feather river, distant
two and a half miles, or in the direction
of the Buttes westward. If the latter
it would account for the water being
so near the surface, about six
feet, necessitating the construction of broad
| shallow bitches to the lower basin OF
Butte creek for drainage. Underneath
the bed of quicksand is an impervious bed
Of hardpan, and then cobbles, well water
worn.
| No doubt Feather river once had its
channel where these cobbles now are, and
in the many changes which water courses
always make in alluvial valleys, shifted its
channels to its present position. Were all
the materials given to man to construct
soil pre-eminehty adapted to all the wants
of diversified agriculture, he could not i'm
prove upon the plan. He might adopt it,
as has been done in portions of the Eastern
States, accounts of which, with its enor-
nous productions, have recently been pub
fish in many papers. The plan was to Sc
lect hillside with a gentle slope, dig
| TRAVERSE bitches connected with each
other, and after removing the soil again
fill the ditch, placing the larger
stones on the bottom, smaller on
top to prevent the soil clog
ging the interstices, and on
top of all placing the finer SOIL Water was
then let into the ditch at the top, which
| gradually percolated to the bitches lower
down, the water rising to the surface
by means of evaporation and capillary
attraction. Nature has done precisely the
same here in the distant ages and without
cost to man, only the soil instead of ling
only foot or two in depth, is many. That
SUCH A SOIL Is IMMENSELY PRODUCTIVE
When supplied with the proper amount OF
| humus, and adapted to all the demands
which the agriculturist or horticulturist
may draw upon it, should be apparent
And nature has not been neglectful to APP
| ply the humus. When the first settlers
arrived here, and up to about ten years
ago, the whole country was covered with
dense thickets and large trees chiefly live
oaks. So matted, indeed, were the thick
| cts, that it was not deemed suitable even
| for sheep pasture. The leaves from those
trees falling (for live-oaks shed their leaves
every three to five years, according to the
species), and the trees themselves falling
and decaying, together with their roots in
| the grounds, aided by the different native
plants with which the country was covered,
has given it supply that it will take
years to reduce SO as to be noticeable in
the crops. After an examination of the
soil, its geological formation and
MAGNIFICENT sUBsoIL DRAINAGE,
One is not surprised at the luxuriant
growth of grains, vegetables trees and
vines. That the ground is humid can be
| told by the original vegetation which now
remains. We have seen an elder tree
growing in a neglected corner and a wild
native grapevine clambering along fence
and as we have no native variety of up.
land grape, only the riparia California;,
which, as its name implies, belongs to the
moist banks of streams, it is the surest sign
of moistness of the underlying soils. The
elder berry also belongs to the bottoms Of
rivers. The farmers of the lower Sacra,
mento always take advantage of the signs
which nature displays, and invariably select
| the red willow land for the choicest peach
orchards. The soil has always been noticed
to be not only moist, but also very rich,
where the wild grapevine grows, as it is
well known to be a rank feeder.